Blood Red Sunrise
by sUnKiSsT
Summary: The final battle...I know its been done again and again...but everyone has their own little spin on it...and here's mine! Rating for some minor swearing and some blood.
1. The Sun Still Rose

_Rating: T, just to be safe for a tiny bit of course language. _

_Summary: The morning after the last battle, with flashbacks of the night before._

_Title: Blood Red Sunrise_

_Author: Ashley Graham_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing_

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**Blood Red Sunrise**

**-CHAPTER ONE-**

Blood stained the now dewy with morning grass. The sun was almost all the way into the sky, turning from blood red to orange slowly. A large mass of bodies were strewn across the vast grounds. A castle stood on its highest hill, the tallest turrets crumbled and caved into themselves as the broken castle continued to unfurl smoke into the violet sky.

The dark forest seemed alit with life, all the trees were shaking their leaves restlessly, but there was hardly any breeze. The dark creatures within it were stirring, attracted by the sent of blood, which hung thick in the air. They dared not leave the shadows of their sanctuary, knowing that some of the wizards were still alive.

The water in the lake churned angrily, and a large tentacle broke the surface before disappearing into its watery depths, almost as if the creature was waving a final goodbye.

Some the dark figures on the ground were stirring, painful moans emitting from their mouths. One particular man, whom lay near the lake, struggled to his feet. His robes were literally torn to shreds, so that only an undershirt and pair of jeans could be seen on him. Even these articles were not in one piece, blood was staining his ripped shirt rapidly, but he seemed not to notice.

His emerald eyes were taking in all that surrounded him. He took off his glasses, wiped them perhaps a little violently, and shoved them back onto his face, as if he did not believe what he was seeing. He kept brushing pieces of his raven black hair out of his eyesight, revealing the lightening shaped scar, which stood out plainly on his forehead.

Then, most suddenly, he fell back to his knees and stared up at the violet sky, which was starting to turn a pale blue with the day. His eyes began to sparkle with unshed tears, as if the weight of the world had been set upon his nineteen year old shoulders. A star was sparkling peacefully, it was only just starting to become hard to see, most of its surrounding companions had been swallowed up by the light. Yet there it was…the same star that had witnessed the end of the bloody war not twenty four hours ago.

In truth, the young man _was_ carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, for many years he had kept his burden quiet, it was only on this morning, when reality set in, that it became to hard to hold, and crashed down on him.

A figure approached him from behind, and put a shaky hand on his shoulder. He turned suddenly, seeing only a blur with flaming red hair. He blinked the tears out of his eyes rapidly, so that he could see the image of his best friend clearly.

"Ron, you're alive." He croaked, allowing the second youngest Weasley to help him once again to his feet.

"It'd take more than giants, dementors and Death Eaters to do me in," Ron replied grimly. He looked worse for wear; a cut down to the bone was bleeding madly on his left arm. His face was a bloody mess and he was limping heavily, so that his tall frame was stooped slightly. "But are you all right, Harry?"

The man named Harry laughed a little, but it did not meet his eyes. He was waiting for his friend to ask him the question, the question which could, in its answer change everything that people had fought and died for the night before.

"Did you, did you do it? Is Voldemort gone for good this time?" Ron finally asked quietly.

Harry pointed silently to a crumpled heap of robes some ten feet away. A large snake lay dead in front of the robes, stretched to its fullest length. He shut his eyes tightly as he remembered the final moments of the man who had terrorized mankind for nearly a century.

"_You are mine Harry Potter! I can guarantee that you will meet your parents very soon!" Voldemort cackled menacingly._

_Harry stood there, wand raised. The dark lord still had no idea that all of his horcruxes except Nagini and of course, the one within the evil man himself, had been destroyed._

"_SECTUMSECTRA!" Voldemort yelled with glee, attempting to inflict as much pain as he possibly could on the boy before he killed him._

_Harry ground his teeth together as he fought against the immense pain of the curse. Through the blinding pain, he yelled, "AVADA KEDEVRA!" The curse did not hit Voldemort however, but the snake that was stretched at her master's feet, hissing profusely._

_Voldemort stopped laughing immediately. He stared down at the dead reptile, and a dawn of comprehension crossed his face, his red, slit like eyes widening slightly. He looked up at the Boy-Who-Lived and said something that even caught Harry off guard, "How did you know about them?"_

"_Dumbledore has never truly left this school, if there is at least one person who has remained loyal to him."_

_Before Voldemort could even begin to get angry at the fact that it was Dumbledore who had played a role in the destroying of his horcruxes, even in death; a rush of green light was speeding his way. The last thing the dark lord heard before he died was from the lips of his murderer, "Rest in peace, Tom."_

_The dark lord was soon nothing but ashes, his fragment of a soul couldn't even keep his barely human body intact. A violent blast emitted from the dead mans wand, sending everyone within a forty foot radius flying backwards. Harry could have sworn that he saw the smoky spirits he had seen in a graveyard five years before (there were many more this time however), soaring up into starlit sky from the splintered wand before he lost consciousness._

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**To Be Continued… 


	2. Those Lost

_Rating: T, just to be safe for a tiny bit of course language. _

_Summary: The morning after the last battle, with flashbacks of the night before._

_Title: Blood Red Sunrise_

_Author: Ashley Graham_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing_

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**Blood Red Sunrise**

**-CHAPTER TWO-**

"That…that's great Harry." Ron croaked, his face very pale under the blood.

Harry snapped back into reality as Ron spoke, and soon found himself in a rough hug. He did not hesitate to hug his friend back, immensely grateful that at least he had survived. He would not be completely alone.

"We'd better find more survivors." Harry said softly, watching as wizards and witches apparated out of no where, all bearing the sign of St. Mungo's on their backs and chests. Headmistress McGonagall had lifted the enchantment so people could apparate inside the grounds. The attack had been found out about too late to think up a way to get wizards and witches to Hogwarts more quickly. Either parents came and whisked their children away quickly upon the owl they received, notifying them of the threat, or people came to help and fight.

The two set off slowly, both refusing care when a healer rushed up to them, her wand raised. "We want people who are more seriously hurt to get treated first." Ron finally snapped when she tried to apply some ointment to a burn on his hand. She stepped back quickly and turned her attention to a wizard neither of them recognized, he was gasping for air on the ground.

Not soon after that, they found their first casualty. Dean Thomas lay on the ground, his eyes opened and glassy. The killing curse had struck him when he had tackled Lavender Brown out of its path.

Then came Cho Chang, she had been given the kiss from a dementor, unable to conjure up a patronous in time. She was then followed by Dennis Creevey, who had been crushed by a giant. Susan Bones had been put under the imperius curse, and had drowned herself in the lake.

Neville Longbottom had his back up against a tree trunk, and was clutching his leg with shaking arms. Ron quickly summoned a healer, who immediately started to work on their friend, who thanked them through chattering teeth; his leg was nearly severed from what appeared to be Wormtails silver hand, as the fat balding man lay dead only five feet away.

The pair left their bleeding friend, both getting anxious, they had not yet found any sign of Ron's family members, or Hermione.

All the stars had disappeared from the sky. The shade of violet was nearly gone, the pale blue becoming more pronounced as the sun rose still higher. There was barely any shadow offsetting the scene under it. Yet the bloodstained grass seemed to become even brighter.

Harry and Ron were nearly all the way to the castle before they found someone that they were looking for. Both Hermione and Ginny were stumbling down the path, supporting each other.

Hermione's hair was no longer bushy, but long and straight. At the moment her brown locks were flecked with unmistakable signs of blood. Ginny was as beautiful as ever, her hair was in a loose bun, which had nearly fallen out during the night, she was sporting a large bruise on her cheek and her arm was at an odd angle.

Both women had been crying, but they screamed in happiness when they saw Harry and Ron and broke into a very clumsy jog. Ginny let go of Hermione and practically fell into Harry's chest, whilst Hermione clutched onto Ron like she'd never let him go.

Once the two had finally let go, Harry pointed his wand at Ginny's arm and muttered a spell, healing it instantly. He had known it was broken the moment he had laid eyes on her.

"Oh Harry! Ron! We thought we'd never see you again!" Hermione squeaked, "We…we heard you beat him though, Harry...is it true?"

The raven haired boy nodded silently. "Thank god…now we can finally get on with our lives and put all this behind us." Hermione said, seemingly shocked that Harry had survived and fulfilled the prophecy.

He was not offended however, when he had set off to destroy the horcruxes two years ago, it had been extremely difficult, and that had been with the help of his two friends. Never mind killing the most evil wizard that had ever walked the earth.

Ginny was looking at Ron with a strange expression on her face, she bit her lip before saying softly, "Ron…Percy…he's, he's dead."

Ron stood very still, even though he had called his elder brother a prat before, even though he had stuck up for the Ministry for ages until he finally had joined the Order last year, he did not want him dead. "How?" He asked no one in particular, his voice very quiet.

"He died saving your dad. Mr. Weasley had his back turned when a Death Eater performed the death curse. He yelled that he was sorry as he pushed him out of the way, before the curse hit him," Hermione whispered, "I saw it happen with my own eyes…in the Great Hall."

Ron pulled his little sister towards him and hugged her tightly without a word. "Right, lets find everyone else." He said a few minutes later, as he attempted to keep his voice steady, stepping out of the hug and breaking the pain him and his sister had momentarily shared, there would be a time for grieving later…too many people needed help right now.

So the small group continued to search the grounds for familiar faces, they could see Ministry officials who had survived arresting every Death Eater that had not managed to apparate away in time. They soon came across Draco Malfoy, who held his head in his hands, his knees drawn up close to his body. Beside him lay the limp form of his father, whose black mask was askew.

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To be continued... 


	3. Goodbye, Father

_Rating: T, just to be safe for a tiny bit of course language. _

_Summary: The morning after the last battle, with flashbacks of the night before._

_Title: Blood Red Sunrise_

_Author: Ashley Graham_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing_

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**Blood Red Sunrise**

**-CHAPTER THREE-**

"Draco?" Hermione said uncertainly.

The blonde haired teen looked up at the group with glassy eyes, "I killed him, I killed my own fucking father!"

"He was going to kill us, you didn't have a choice." Harry replied to this outburst calmly, remembering the incident.

"_You shouldn't have turned your back on the dark lord Draco! Now I am forced to kill you, pity…you would have made a great Death Eater. You betrayed me, your own father!" Lucius said to his son with a look of scorn on his face._

_Harry turned to survey the scene between father and son. He had just finished off Bellatrix with Lupin, to avenge the death of Sirius. When Draco had turned back over to the light, he still had not trusted him. He hated and loathed him more than ever for getting Dumbledore killed._

"_No, you turned your back on me father! All that mattered to you was precious Voldemort; you cared about nothing but him, not even I or mum!" Draco yelled back angrily, his wand raised. Before he could utter a single curse, however, his father yelled, "Crucio!"_

_The older man held his son under the curse for five minutes, and did not let him even pause for a breath before he hit him again. Harry felt a surge of anger towards the man, and with a burst of adrenaline, ran flat out at him. The two were sent flying to the ground, lifting the curse off of Draco._

_Unfortunately, Lucius got to his feet first, and Harry soon found a wand pointed at his heart. "Your next, son!" Lucius yelled, raising his wand._

_Harry shut his eyes as the green light filled his eyelids, thinking about how he got himself killed by saving the life of someone who had made his life hell for eight years. When the green light faded however, he was still alive. Opening his eyes he saw the older man lying by his feet, dead. _

_Scrambling to his feet, he looked over at Draco, who still had his wand pointed at his father, his face extremely white and his entire body shaking. Harry nodded a grim thanks to the seemingly shocked man, and ran off into the fight again._

Draco shook his head and mumbled something into his hands; the four took it as a sign to leave him alone with his thoughts.

As they ventured closer to the quidditch pitch, it became clear that the death of Voldemort had finally spread, as there were both looks of deepest sadness from the pain of so many losses and happiness on everyone's faces, even those who were dying from near fatal injuries. Harry wondered vaguely if this is what it had been like when Voldemort had killed his parents and vanished for fourteen years.

Harry was beginning to feel extremely weak, his wounds were still bleeding, and he was beginning to stumble as they walked on. Hermione kept giving him concerned looks, and it was not soon before he collapsed to his knees, too weak to protest when Hermione yelled for help, or to reassure Ginny he was ok, as she fell to his level and began to cry.

He was soon on his back, his head in Ginny's lap, forcing himself to stay awake.

"He said he was okay, he looked fine five minutes ago!" Ron was saying anxiously as Hermione whipped out her wand. She quickly vanished the shirt off of his body and the three let out strangled gasps of horror. His entire torso was slashed, one of the cuts so deep that they could see the white of bone. He was covered in blood.

Ginny cried harder and began speaking, "Please Harry…no, you can't be alright at first and then just die, that's not fair! You promised that after you killed him we could be together again…don't you dare do this to me! I've waited too long to get you to lose you!"

A figure came hurrying towards the four; she yelled out to them, "What's going on here? Ginny? Ron!"

Ron turned towards the source of the familiar voice, and found himself staring at his mother. "Mum?" He said blankly.

"RON!" She shrieked, grabbing him into a bone cracking hug. "Oh my god, I thought I'd lost the both of you, Dad's alright, Charlie is pretty bad but he's gone to St. Mungo's, Fleur and Bill made it out alright…Fred lost two fingers but he doesn't seem at all fazed by it, George isn't hearing too well, we don't know why yet…Percy…Percy is d-dead."

"Mum, Mum, MUM!" Ron yelled over her, causing the hysterical sobbing and talking to cease. "It's Harry, he seemed alright earlier when I found him but he needs help now…" He finished weakly, stepping aside to reveal the green eyed boy on the ground.

Mrs. Weasley let out a strangled cry at the sight of the young man and fell beside Ginny, frantically waving her wand over him. She siphoned most of the blood off of his chest, but it was soon replaced by more. "We need to get him to St. Mungo's _right away_,"She said distractedly, "_REMUS GET OVER HERE!"_

Sure enough, the former professor and werewolf, came limping over, his face ashen. He had been binding the hands of Nott, and hadn't seen the commotion going on some twenty feet away.

"What's going on here? Ron, Hermione, Molly, Ginny…it's good to see you all ma- _HARRY_!" He suddenly cried, looking at the young Potter in shock.

"Can you take him to St. Mungo's, I have to stay here…Arthur will worry if he can't find me. In fact, take this lot with you…they all need to be looked at." Molly said, her voice trembling.

"Of course, come on guys." Lupin murmured, lifting Harry up gently.

"I'm fine, you can put me down." Harry mumbled to the older man.

"Don't be ridiculous Harry; you're going to St. Mungo's whether you want to or not." Lupin said firmly, motioning for the other three to apparate with him.

Ginny had stopped crying, and was hugging her mother tightly. "Are you sure you don't me to stay at least? I'm not hurt that bad, I can help." She said as calmly as she could.

"We have enough help, you go with the others…go be with Harry." Mrs. Weasley said with a forced smile, proud of her daughter for putting others before herself.

Ginny nodded, hugged her mother again, and dissapparated. Ron and Hermione quickly followed suit.

"He'll be alright, Molly. If he can kill Voldemort, he can do anything." Lupin said, looking at his best friend's son with admiration.

"I know." Mrs. Weasley whispered as the two disappeared. Tears brimmed and soon began to spill over her face as she took in the destruction around her, once such a beautiful place, destroyed by the darkest of evils. It would take a lot of work to rebuild what had been destroyed, and she wasn't just thinking of the ruined castle.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, she looked up at the mid morning sky and felt the warmth of the sun on her skin. _Perhaps not all is lost, _she thought to herself as she went in search for more survivors.

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**One more part to go. **


	4. Forgivness and Remembrance

_Rating: T, just to be safe for a tiny bit of course language. _

_Summary: The morning after the last battle, with flashbacks of the night before._

_Title: Blood Red Sunrise_

_Author: Ashley Graham_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing_

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**Blood Red Sunrise**

**-CHAPTER FOUR-**

Harry walked with slow, deliberate steps towards his former school. Three agonizing months had passed since the final battle. It was now October 31st, but the grand feast that usually celebrated Halloween would be quite different this time around.

His past three months had went by very slow, it had taken a while for him to recover from all of his injuries, he had still been in great pain when he had attended the start of many funerals. Yet he still felt no closure as the coffins began their decent into the ground.

Today he would speak about the lives lost during Voldemorts reign; today he might get some closure at last.

Hogwarts still did not look the same as it did during his stay there. True, the castle looked magnificent again, the grounds were sweeping green, and the lake was still. There were no bodies strewn on the grounds, no blood, no screams or yells.

But there was a graveyard, a fairly large one at that. Marble stones, each carved with the name of the deceased, the tallest one stood in the centre; the grave of Albus Dumbledore.

Harry shook his head as he moved past the graveyard; he would pay his respects after his speech. Not far from here, was a large group of people, they all sat quite silent, waiting for him to step onto the stage.

The Order, Ministry officials, former students, both from the DA and not, plus all of the current students and teachers sat before him as he walked up the steps slowly.

Ron and Hermione sat with the remaining Weasley's, Charlie never made it past St. Mungo's, his injuries had been too much for him.

Not a single face wore a smile, but looked at him solemnly, waiting for him to speak.

"When I first started at Hogwarts many years ago, I never expected what I got. I knew almost instantly that magic was much harder then waving a wand and saying a few funny words," Harry began slowly, his voice building with confidence, "I was happier here than I had ever been, Hogwarts was my home, my sanctuary. Oddly enough, Tom Marvalo Riddle felt the exact same way. Tom feared love and death, which in the end, lead to his ultimate destruction. Voldemort had been born a human, an innocent baby just like all of us."

Some people shuddered at the name, but Harry continued to speak.

"Tom never experienced the feeling of love, his mother died at his birth and his father abandoned him. It was an emotion he did not understand. Whatever he could not understand, he feared. A wise man once told me that we all have a choice. The choice to decide between what it right and what is easy. Tom chose the easy path, and adopted his new name as Lord Voldemort. For you see, love was not something that Tom could learn with ease, he already had the brains to learn complicated spells, and he had had the experience when it came to hurting people, going as far back to when he was a small child. Tom felt indestructible when he held someone's life in his hands."

"You may wonder why I'm telling you this. The answer is simple; you always have a choice, no matter what the situation may be. If I had of chosen the easy path, Voldemort would still be alive, and I would be in hiding. Just remember, when choosing between what is right and what is easy, follow your heart. Voldemort took the easy path, and it ended in his soulless death, I chose the hard one, the one which I knew was right, and I killed him, even though I knew I would suffer the losses of the many people I loved."

Many people nodded their heads in silent agreement, and Ginny was looking at the emerald eyed boy with pride and love.

"Every single one of us here knew someone who died during Voldemorts second rising. There is not a soul in this room who has not felt the pain of loss, and that is where we are all connected as one. With the help of each other, we can overcome these sad times and move on with our lives just as our loved ones would have wanted us to. I am only nineteen years old, and I have lost my parents, my godfather, my mentor, and two members of a family that I am related to by everything but blood and name. Yet I still keep going, I still keep fighting, and I will assist in finding those dark wizards and witches whom escaped that final night. I will not do this because I am the 'Chosen One', or the Boy-Who-Lived, I will do it because I _choose_ to."

And with that, Harry Potter stepped down from the podium, gave Ginny a light kiss on the cheek, and walked back to the graveyard, Hermione and Ron in his wake. Behind them they could hear McGonagall giving a speech about those lost on Hogwarts soil, starting with Dumbledore.

Upon reaching the graveyard, they walked up to Dumbledore's grave, and saw a man with blonde sleeked hair standing there, staring at the inscription.

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_Born 1850 Died 2005_

_Powerful and Most Dedicated Wizard Ever To Walk Earth_

_You Shall Never Truly Leave This School - For There Will Always Be One Person Who Remains Loyal To You_

_Rest in Peace_

The man turned and looked at the trio. "I never thought it would end this way." He said softly.

"I don't think any of us did." Hermione spoke, clutching Ron's hand.

"I never wanted him to die, you know. I always let on that I hated him, but I didn't…I respected him from a distance," Draco muttered, "When he begged for his life, I didn't know what to think anymore. Then Snape…he just, disappeared after we left Hogwarts that night, I never saw him again."

Harry traced the phoenix that was carved into the marble and replied quietly, "I saw him during my travels for the Horcruxes, before I could kill him, he explained everything…"

"_You killed him you bastard! You killed the only man who gave a damn about you! Rot in fucking HELL Snape!" Harry roared, raising his wand at his former teacher, who stood with his wand at his side._

_Snape did not flinch but replied savagely, "I did what I had to do."_

"_He pleaded with you to spare him!" Harry continued mutinously. _

"_Do you really think that he would beg for his life Potter?! You are so naïve! That potion he drank was poison, a slow poison through which he would suffer a long, slow, and painful death! He wanted me to kill him!"_

"_LIAR!" Harry roared._

"_You can believe whatever you wish, but I will take the truth to the grave." Snape growled._

_Harry bit his tongue as he thought this new bit of information over. One part was telling him that Snape was a dirty liar, but the other part was reminding him what he had thought all along. Dumbledore had never shown any fear towards death in all the time he had known him, and Voldemort would have been wicked enough to slowly kill someone, instead of finishing them off quickly. _

"_Why did you run then? Why didn't you tell people what really happened?" He asked quietly, lowering his wand slightly. _

"_Look what happened to Black when Pettigrew set him up! You yourself chased me all the way out of Hogwarts, trying to hurt me as much as possible! I would have been murdered before I had a chance to explain my story to anybody. I got Draco out of there, took him to his mother, and went into hiding. Voldemort has tried endlessly to find me. In fact, you're the first person that has managed to do so. Congratulations Potter, you are no longer a dunderhead. Fifty points to Gryffindor."_

"_I never was one. After you left I received top potion marks, Hermione was the only one who beat me out last June for top NEWTS." Harry replied tensely, still trying to decide what he should do here._

_Snape threw his wand on the ground. "Kill me; I have lived with his blood on my hands for too long." His voice was very low and his black eyes were glittering._

_It was then that Harry made his decision. He walked forwards and picked up the wand. Looking straight at the man he had loathed for seven years, he handed it back to him. "I want you to disappear forever. I want you to live with the fact that you sold out my parents; my mother, who was the only one who stood up for you. I want you to live with the fact that you killed the man who gave you a second chance, and a new life. Goodbye, professor."_

"_Kill him Harry; help rid us of lies, suffering and deceit." With that Snape apparated without another word. _

"I never saw him again." Harry finished.

"Do you think he was really innocent?" Hermione asked.

"Honestly I don't know, but he said the curse, and used the wand. That's good enough for me." Harry replied slowly.

"I'm sorry for all the shit I put you three through. Ron, your mum is actually nice; she brought me food when I was in St. Mungo's and she isn't dumpy, Hermione I'm sorry for all the stuff I called you, I've changed my ways," Draco began awkwardly before turning to Harry. "Thanks for giving me a second chance, you are a good man." He clapped his hand on the black haired mans shoulder, nodded at Ron and Hermione and left without a word. The trio watched until his back had disappeared from sight, beyond the entrance gates.

Harry looked up briefly at the red streaked sky before turning to his two best friends. He had never felt more close to them, ever. He cracked the first smile he had worn in ages, and pulled the two of them into a group hug. They broke apart and looked at each other intently.

"Thanks for never leaving my side, even when I tried to make you." Harry said.

"We made the choice to stick with you when we were eleven years old, we'll always be here, no matter what happens." Ron said firmly, Hermione nodded in silent agreement.

Harry's green eyes sparkled like they had years ago, when he was an innocent boy. _Maybe something good came out of all of this, _he thought as he left the cemetery, both Hermione and Ron by his side.

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_**Fin**_

**08/25/05**

Well there you have it! I went through and edited most of this just for you guys. :)


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